Hyderabad: Over the past 10 months, a girl has been raped in Ammuguda and another escaped an attempted sexual assault but officials have still not installed street lights nor organised patrolling in the area to give women a sense of security. The area, with dense bushes and trees, near the railway station falls between the GHMC, the Secunderabad Cantonment Board and the South Central Railway.
In December 2017, a Class 10 student was beaten up and raped by an unidentified person at about 6.45 in the evening, when she was going to her friend’s place. In July, an army man was arrested by the Hyderabad police for allegedly attempting ti rape a 19-year-old girl in the Ammuguda surroundings.
Lack of proper street lighting gives scope for many illegal activities, said Ammuguda resident K. Jayaram. “Without lights, the road is shrouded in darkness, The trees and bushes beside the road make it even more scary,” he said.
He said that taking this as an advantage, some people land up in the place and drink liquor and cause nuisance to the residents. Mr C.S. Chandrashekar, secretary for the Federation of North Eastern Colonies of Secunderabad, said, “Unfortunate incidents took place because of the poor infrastructure. At least now the authorities must clear the bushes and arrange for proper lighting and patrolling at nights to provide safety for women.”
Residents took to Twitter to ask officials to take quick action. The handle Greensainikpuri posted: “This area recently had seen crimes on women and a murder too. In spite of this, shockingly, there are no street lights. Request, GHMC, Secunderabad Cantonment and Railway authorities to have a convergence meet with specific agenda in resolving issues This is for women’s safety.”
When contacted, SCB vice-president J. Rama Krishna said “We do not have power to clear the bushes in defence areas as it is completely under Army control. Regarding the street lights we will improve it.” GHMC and railway officials were unavailable for comment.
